february, 2019 | The Health
Health Business
Novotech CRO
presents Australia
and Asia-Pacific
clinical trial trends
A
sia-Pacific specialist CRO
Novotech has been invited to
share the advantages of con-
ducting clinical trials in Australia and
the Asia-Pacific, at the 37th Annual
J.P.Morgan Healthcare Conference.
The presentation, Australia’s R&D
Refund and Simplified Regulatory
Environment as Gateway to Asia fea-
tures Novotech CEO Dr John Moller
and Novotech’s industry partners in
Biotech Connect the single access
point to Australia’s clinical trial
environment - CoSec Consulting CEO
Blair Lucas, and Nucleus Network
CEO Cameron Johnson. https://
biotech-connect.com.au/
Dr Moller will share the latest data
on clinical trial activity in Australia,
which is up by 11% to 810 on 2017,
and Asia-Pacific trial numbers which
is up by 10% to 7,715 trials.
In line with the increase in activity
in the region, Novotech’s clinical staff
numbers in Asia have grown by more
than 20% during the last quarter of
2018.
Dr Moller said the Novotech
growth is fueled by demand for a
regional CRO with international
accreditation and reputation,
combined with local knowledge,
partnerships and expertise.
He will present data showing the
rapid start-up speed, low cost and
high quality on offer in Australia, and
how Novotech can then support later
Phase studies in the Asia-Pacific.
“The Novotech team is well posi-
tioned across the region to access the
more than 1.4 billion people living in
urban areas, which is a key factor in
the decision by biotechs to include
the Australia and the Asia-Pacific in
their global studies,” he said.
Novotech, which has 11 offices
in the region, now has over 550
VOL 2: 09 | Month of January, 2019 | RM5.00 | PP19292/03/2018 (034850) | www.sihatmalaysia.my
Month Of January, 2019
www.sihatmalaysia.my
Pacemaker
for the pregnant
PET-CT Scan
is 90% more
accurate
PET-CT Scan is a type
of imaging device
which combines
radiopharmaceuticals,
a specialized camera lens,
and an advanced
computer system to
detect abnormalities
in our bodies. – p09
Plus: Special
pullout – IJN
CLEAN AIR,
our right
T
obacco use is the
leading preventable
cause of death in the
world. Apart from the harms
smoking causes to smokers,
exposure to second-han d
smoke is a major public
health hazard. Everyone has
the right to breathe. Clean
air is our fundamental right.
Th e Health supports the Blue
Ribbon Campaign to inform
smokers and non-smokers
alike about tobacco smoke’s
harms. – p08-11
2019 Budget Highlights Wonder Women
– p12-13 – p14&15 – p20
2019 Budget for health- Malaysian fertility
care aims for impact
in jeopardy
Exclusive
Planning motherhood
years in advance
RISING FROM POVERTY TO A REVERED TYCOON – p22&23
Pregnant woman with
heart condition gets
pacemaker through 3D
mapping system.
– p05
The cure
for weak
hearts
People living with heart failure faces
eternal hardship in life, as they will be
subjected to all life-risking problems,
even with the use of pacemakers, those
whose hearts are tremendously weak will
not live a comfortable life. – p04&05
employees through-out Australia,
New Zealand and Asia.
Novotech works in partnership
with the leading medical institutions
across Asia to accelerate quality clini-
cal research for its clients, and has
now signed 10 strategic partnerships
with hospitals and research institu-
tions in the region.
Novotech has acquired Aus-
tralasian specialist CRO Clinical
Network Services (CNS) as part of a
mutual mission to expand services
to biopharma for early phase product
development and clinical research
in Australia, through to later Phase
regional and global trials.
The J.P.Morgan presentation
includes the many compelling
reasons to consider Asia-Pacific for
clinical research:
• Large patient population
• Few competing trials
• Efficient regulatory system
• Highly qualified and educated
medical professionals
• Low operational costs
• Well supported IT infrastructure
• High level of GCP compliance
• Efficient trial management and
logistics infrastructure
“Our in-country relationships
enable a more comprehensive under-
standing of local regulatory changes,
access to leading PIs, strong site
connections, and productive patient
populations to deliver success for our
clients within timelines and budgets,”
said Dr Moller. — The health
Briefs
Government calls for
more contribution by
insurers to B40 national
healthcare fund
The government has called for more
insurers to contribute to the B40 health
protection fund mySalam, which would
cover 3.69 million Malaysians upon its
operation beginning March this year.
“The choice to contribute to the
scheme is in line with the government’s
objective to achieve higher economic
benefit for the people in the long run,” said
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
at the launch of the healthcare fund.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said
RM2 billion cash contribution by Great
Eastern, comes as an alternative to
the condition of 30% minimum local
shareholding for foreign insurers set by the
government.
The government has identified 3.69
million B40 individuals aged between 18
and 55 who will be notified via SMS that
they are eligible for mySalam. The cash,
said Guan Eng, will be used to pay the
scheme’s annual premium of RM112 per
individual across five years. The mySalam
fund is managed by Great Eastern
Takaful Bhd. Those eligible can apply for
claims via mySalam portal or at any Great
Eastern offices across Malaysia beginning
March 2019. The mySalam fund begins
with a RM2 billion fund provided by
Singapore-based insurer Great Eatern
Takaful Bhd, which is currently the sole
contributor to the fund.
UnitedHealth sues
former executive for
stealing trade secrets
Healthcare giant UnitedHealth
Group is suing one of its former
executives for stealing trade secrets
and taking them to a firm they consider
a direct competitor — Amazon’s new
health venture with Berkshire Hathaway
and J.P. Morgan Chase. United’s
Optum unit is suing former information
technology executive David Smith for
breach of contract in Massachusetts
District court.
In the 18 months leading up to his
resignation, Smith played a key role in
reviewing Optum’s strategy, and was
“on of fewer than 50 people at the
company” who had access to Optum’s
detailed profit and loss statements for
the entire company. The lawsuit, which
was filed last week. — The Health
09
09
Private equity
firms circling
Nestlé’s skin
health business
Private equity firms Cinven and
Advent have teamed up to bid in an auc-
tion that could value Nestle’s skin health
business at about 7 billion Swiss francs
(US$7 billion), three sources familiar with
the matter said.
Private equity companies Blackstone,
KKR, Carlyle, CVC, EQT and Partners
Group are also expected to bid and
might look for partners, according to the
sources, who declined to be identified as
the process is private.
Nestle launched a review of the unit in
September, as the maker of Nescafe coffee
and Perrier water ditches underperform-
ing businesses and fends off criticism
from an activist investor who wants an
overhaul.
The fragmented consumer health
sector is attractive for deals because of
aging populations in many industrialized
nations, increased interest in health and
rising incomes, analysts say.
Information memorandums on the
skin health business sale, being run by
Credit Suisse and Evercore, are expected
to be sent by the end of January and first-
round bids are likely to be submitted in
early March, the sources said.
Nestle’s skincare line could be valued
at US$7 billion
Merz Pharma, a private German
company that sells wrinkle fillers and
other skin treatments, has reached out
to several private equity bidders to find a
partner, the sources said.
The move by Merz shows the strength
of private equity in the auction, given
they want the whole Nestle unit. Industry
rivals are only expected to bid for parts of
the business.
Nestle Skin Health, which sells Ceta-
phil and Proactiv skin care products,
Restylane wrinkle fillers and prescription
dermatology medicines, had sales of 2.7
billion Swiss francs last year, accounting
for about 3 percent of Nestle’s total.
The sources said industry players
which might take part in the auction
included Beiersdorf , Allergan , Henkel
, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) , L’Oreal ,
Pfizer and Unilever. — The health